Liverpool is justly proud of its maritime heritage. When it was declared a World Heritage City in 2004, Unesco described it as 'the supreme example of a commercial port at the time of Britain's greatest global influence'. In the 18th and 19th centuries, 45 per cent of all world trade went through the port. It's also home to the longest established Chinese community in Europe.
The phenomenal popularity of The Beatles and its two football teams - Liverpool FC and Everton - mean the city at the mouth of the river Mersey in the northwest of England is recognised all over the world. Even in remote places in China, just saying you are from 'near Liverpool' may spark a rendition of a Beatles song or, increasingly, a critique of one of its teams' performances in football's Premier League.
Since the 1960s, people from Liverpool have been widely known as Scousers or Scouse - a name first used in 1945, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. Since then the name has stuck. 'Lern yerself Scouse' books have been published but not many people outside Liverpool know the origins of the name.
Scouse comes from the dish Lobscouse, a type of stew made from meat, potatoes and root vegetables that's been eaten since the late 1700s and is now commonly referred to as simply 'scouse'.
Unlike other groups of people whose nicknames are derived from the food they eat - Limey (English by Americans), Rosbif (English by the French), Krauts (Germans by other Europeans) - people from Merseyside and Liverpool are proud to be called Scousers.
As a traditional British dish, scouse is enjoying a revival and is proudly acknowledged as the city's signature dish. Trendy restaurants such the Brasserie at Malmaison Liverpool, the hangout for footballers' wives and girlfriends, now offers its take on the dish. In the city centre, Maggie May's scouse is legendary and the cafe has even taken to marketing its own in tins.
The recipe varies from family to family, and the use of beef or lamb (or both), like support for Everton or Liverpool football teams, divides the city. For example, Malmaison favours lamb while Maggie May's uses beef. Less pedantic cooks would say you can use any meat or vegetables that you have to hand.